If you could go back in history and change one event, what would it be and why?

it's really hard to say. There have been times in my life when I have done things or said things that I later was sorry for. And there have been things like deaths in the family, job losses, and so forth that I wish hadn't happened. But who's to say that changing history wouldn't mean something as bad or worse wouldn't happen? For instance, my dad died of a sudden heart attack. I wish he was still alive, but then when he did eventually die, it might be of some lingerig illness, so maybe dying suddenly was a blessing. Besides, I had to experience everything I have experienced to be where I am today.

oooh, the things I would undo...
There's too many to name just one.
I wouldn't have gone out with my ex.
I wouldn't have gone out with the ex before that.
I wouldn't have been such a bitter daughter toward my mother for all those years.
I wouldn't have let my family be so demeaning to me.
There's a few to start off the list.

I can't lie, but I would like if Hitler's plan to conquere the world worked. I would go back, and make it work, but not having all those people to die. It would be cool to live in a coutry (or to be from it) that rules the whole world.

You and your German blah, blah, blah...

none

I would have never been born because I had rotten childhood that is responsible for many of my troubling emotions as an adult.

do you even realize or know what you are saying. do you know that that could not have happened without all "those" people dying? i know that this is just a hypothetical question and that this is possibly truly your wish but YIKES!!!!!

Elvis dying, i would have loved to see him in concert!

I wouldn't change anything unless I knew first how it would affect the future.

That's sick and you know it.

What if Jesus was never crucified?

The developement of AIDS because it appears to be a disease that eliminates a majority of certain social groups including gays and the poor in both the first and third worlds. It's hard to say what else to change, because if Hitler or Stalin were killed before they came to power we might be more open to extreme views today because there would not be the memories of what can happen.

It would be good to be part of a world ruled by one government? I don't think so, although it looks like that's the way we are heading now.

Hmmmm...the first thing that pops to mind is to stop Jesus' being crucified. Just to see what the world would look like today. Or have Julian succeed in returning the Roman Empire to paganism.

LOL Great minds think alike!

I would change nothing. If it *were* possible to change anything (and the most recent article I read about time travel suggested it wouldn't be) I think it could have some pretty freaky results!

BTW - The article I referred to was fascinating. It was about a scientist's theory that space and time could be bent by light so much that time would form a ring or a loop. Because the loop begins when the "time machine" is turned on, we, in the present, could not visit the past, but people in the future could come back to visit us. That would explain why, as far as we are aware, we have not yet had people from the future visit us (which has been a problem for scientists who think that time travel is possible).

My description there is immensely basic because it goes into quantum science and that goes over my head! I think it's really interesting though and I thought I should share

Um...I'd change twisty's childhood so she could have a better one and be happier now.

That elimination is a good thing sometimes.

Why?Why is it better for you and for the world in general if certain groups are eliminated by AIDS? How do those certain group existing and coexisting with you affect your life negatively that you would be glad of their removal? I am trying to get to the facts behind your statements. I am trying to find sense in your reasoning. I am trying to find out why sexual orientation other than heterosexality pisses you off.

They brought the virus to us in the first place and helped it spread to what it is now. Many innocent people have died because of it. Their coexisting with me is simply adding more sin to this already sinful world. Children today are born with more "choices" than they should have. Things like homosexuality shouldn't even be an option placed before them...another thing with them to "deal" with. AIDS shouldn't be a threat to them. They shouldn't have to worry about someone of the same sex hitting on them and tempting them with sin.

I want to know how it affects you directly. You. Have you lost an innocent loved one to AIDS?

If homosexuality is such a tantalizing "choice" why don't more people choose it? Why didn't you choose it? You had the option. Why didn't you choose it?

Have you worried about homosexuals hitting on you?Changing you? Tempting you with sin?

I personally don't know anyone that has/had AIDs, but that is beside the point. How many people died because they received blood from an HIV donor? How many children died because they were born to a parent with HIV? Didn't they have a right to live? Wasn't that right taken from them by a disease that could have been prevented?
There are plenty of people that choose homosexuality and bisexuality. Not all of them are proud of that choice though. Why is that? Do they think that maybe they made the wrong choice?
Man's nature is to sin...and to do what may be necessary to hide that sin.
Yes, I had the option, but it was never appealing and never shall be.
I have been hit on by a homosexual and it was appauling...

AIDS is not a punishment from god. It is a disease. There are thousands of different diseases and all of them take peoples lives. We are born and we die. Accidents happen and unfortunately mistakes happen. Everyone does have a right to live but do you have a right to question why some lives end before others? That is not for us to know.

Please tell me how AIDS originated and how in the world anyone could have prevented it? You seem so sure that gays created AIDS and that if no gay men had ever had sex, AIDS would not exist, let alone have been spread to innocentpeople. Can you clear this up for me?

Of those people who choose homosexuality and bisexuality, do you think any of those people would be ashamed of their sexuality if no one had ever called it a sin?

Why does homosexuality appeal to some people and not others? Why don't you think it appealed to you? Why do you assume it will appeal to all those innocent children you are so worried about having it as an option? Are they weaker than you? Don't you think that if they aren't supposed to feel that way, that they too would find it appalling to be hit on or "recruited" by a homosexual?

They test you for HIV before you give blood.

I would like to have been able to stop my father from stabbing my mother to death.That whole thing made it where my four children never got to know their grandparents.Or my parents their grandchildren.That for sure is what I would change.

They do now, but how many innocent

How many innocent people had to die because they got tainted blood before they started testing donors for HIV?

Getting married to my ex. The only bad thing would be I would not have my kids.

It's too late for that now, it's over with. Now we need to deal with the problem instead of dwelling on the past, and how the problem was brought. Just because it was (sprt of) their own fault doesn't mean they deserve to die. Let's say you've got a 10 year old son. He decides to try and jump off the roof to see if he can fly (despite whatever you may have warned him about) and he breaks his arm. Are you going to refuse to take him to the hospital because it was his own fault? What if he takes a drink from the same can of pop as a kid who is sick? Are you going to refuse to try and make him feel better?

He's not spreading his broken arm to other innocent people, is he? What is the likelihood that someone is going to die from the cold that he is sharing? Of course I will try to make him feel better, but it's 100% different from AIDs.
I wouldn't say that necessarily they deserve to die, but they knew that going into the situation, they risked acquiring a life altering disease. It was a chance they took and an outcome that is well known. Why do think there is such a thing as AIDs in this world?
I personally believe that it is a form of judgement that God is rendering.

Well, that's your opinion, unfortunatley I cannot understand it. I just think that people should focus more on how they can help these poor people than why they have this disease.

Did you ever think that god wants humans to find a cure for AIDs, so that we can help people? You can't leave everything up to god, saying that god wants us to do this, but not to do that and such.

No, it is not for us to know when or why people die in all actuality. Accidents do happen and mistakes do happen, but there are consequences that people must face. Unfortunately, some people's choices affect innocent people. The Oklahoma City bomber made a decision to place a bomb in a very large building. I am willing to bet that he had no qualms or anything about the children and other people that happened to be in that building that day. His disagreement was with someone completely different. Does that change the fact that his decision affected all of those people and their families? Does it change the fact that innocent people died because he was disgruntled?
I'm sure that gay men didn't create AIDs, but they did provide it with an outlet in which to grow. When people come to America with some dreaded disease such as the Ebola Virus they are quarantined. Why is it that people with a disease just as life threatening are allowed to procreate...to go on with their lives as if they aren't carrying a deadly virus? Just because it isn't airborn? I understand how AIDs is acquired...but do you understand that the human race isn't all that intelligent? People figure, "Screw it. I have AIDs and I could give it to this girl that I am going to sleep with, but selfish me, I want to get laid." I'm not saying all people are like that, but there are plenty out there. Their ignorance, selfishness, thoughtlessness, or whatever their reasoning is a threat.
It's not like you can look at someone and say, "They have AIDs so I'm not gonna sleep with them." You can't tell by looking. You have to trust that the person is going to be honest with you and tell you that there is a risk in having sex with them.
How long has this form of sexuality been considered by many a sin? Since the beginning.

I was thinking of a big historical thing, but after I read the explanation, I think I would change my mother dying. I don't know really what things would be different now, but I know some things would be better. I don't know if anything really should be changed. It just screws up the present too much.

I don't think it'd be a good thing to stop Jesus' crucifixion, he died to save us from out sins. That's just what was supposed to happen.

That's one point of view. From my (atheistic) point of view, he was a political activist whose death sparked the development of a new religious movement, one which massively effected history. Had the Romans not killed Jesus, would Christianity have happened anyway? Would his eventual death have had the same effect? Would some other Jewish radical's death have had the same effect? Would Christianity never have happened? Would Jesus' movement have died out the way all the other Jewish political movements of the time died out? Looking at it from a non-theological point of view, I think it raises a lot of intriguing questions. I'm sure these options all seem horrifying to you, since you believe Jesus was the son of God. I think he was just a charismatic Jewish political radical.
Another intriguing possibility: what if Paul had never converted? I think he's more responsible for shaping modern Christianity that Jesus was.

If AIDS is God's judgement on homosexuals, then why are "innocent" people dying from it?

What about a disease that eliminates the rich who use up a disproportionately large amount of resources and exploit the poor?

Homosexuals do not 'choose' to be homosexual. They choose to accept the way they were made by God. People can try to deny the way they were born, marry someone of the opposite sex, have children, but still be gay. Did you choose to be heterosexual? No, you are naturally attracted to the opposite sex. It is the same with gay people. They are born with an attraction to their own sex. They cannot change it. Homosexuality is often a very lonely existance. Many people struggle all their lives to suppress their true feelings. People are disowned by their families, bashed by bigots, mocked, hated. Is it any wonder that young gay males make up the largest group of people who suicide? Why the hell would anyone choose to live that way? AIDS originated in Africa as a heterosexual disease, not a gay disease. It still kills far more heterosexual men and women than gays in Africa and Asia today. Why would God make gay people, then send a plague to wipe them out? Next time you pray ask him why he's such a chicken to his creations.

As I explained earlier, innocent people are often affected by other's choices.

Right, but if AIDS is God's judgement, then it's not about people's choices to transmit it. It's all controlled by God, so he's letting innocent people die from it as well.

How can you talk about all that misery and still claim that homosexuality is a God-given trait?
Society and mankind made gay people, not God. That is where the judgement came from.
Your sexuality shouldn't be a choice...it isn't a choice, but sin is. Homosexuality is an action. You choose to act as a homosexual.

But this didn't happen, so what's the deal with it?

If you were German you wouldn't say that.

Yeah, I know what's your thinking right now about how happy you are because you're not German.

*A lot* of Germans would never say what you just said.

I know. Right now, my parents would be concerned with me (like they alreayd aren't?) about what I said. I guess I'm REALLy open-minded on every issue.

Like Ann Landers always says... Be careful you aren't so open-minded that your brains fall out.

Are you saying that no misery comes from God now? Didn't I read earlier that you believe AIDS is a punishment from God? I wonder what terrible sin those babies who are born with AIDS committed while they were in the womb. Tell me, what sin have black people committed to deserve sickle cell anaemia? You said that sexuality isn't a choice, so therefore it is innate, and from God. Why should only heterosexuals be permitted to act on their sexual desires and love for another human being?

Oh and in case you didn't know, 97% of pedophiles are heterosexual. I ask you what's worse, two people of the same sex who love each other and who are committed to each other having sex, or a heterosexual who forces children to engage in sex with them against their will?

Misery does come from God, usually as a form of punishment. The babies born with AIDs are the innocent that I'm talking about. By saying sexuality isn't a choice, I mean that there is only one form of sexuality that people are born with. Anything else is a physical choice they made.

Do scientists and psychologists agree with that theory about heterosexuality being the only sexuality humans are born with? I don't believe that has been proven or disproved at this point, though I know it has been studied.
What do you think about animals that engage in same sex activities? Are they sinning?

you need to read some history on HIV/AIDS. you are reading too much christian propaganda! HIV/AIDS is a heterosexual disease in every country except the US. and always has been. the blood banks gave tainted blood to patients knowingly well after the virus was known to them because they were greedy and weren't willing to develop or use any type of testing until the outcry was sooooo great that they were forced to. the US government refused for many years to recognize HIV/AIDS as a problem until well after the medical and scientific communities knew how horrible this would be. many of these facts would represent a government, big business and religious communities that have a hand in the many deaths that have occurred over the years(mostly in the 80's) because they thought that this was a disease that would never affect anyone important!
i agree whole heartedly with kaleb in relation to homosexuality and it's origins.............always been 10% and always will be with many variations in between(bisexuals).
not having met a family devastated by AIDS or knowing anyone with AIDS does put you at a disadvantage in this conversation......... you don't know, you don't understand. these parents love their children. they are people with a horrible disease that needs a cure. not your damnation!! that is not your place. your flawed logic could be projected to anyone with a deadly disease or anyone who dies from a life threatening disease. you just choose to apply it when it is convient for your beliefs!!! live your life and if you can't help the problem then please don't get involved at all......... You don't know what you are talking about!!!!!!

you obviously have never sat down and talked with anyone who is gay. They do not wake up one morning as heterosexuals and say to themselves, "I think I might be gay from now on. I will no longer be attracted to the opposite sex. I will find my own sex attractive. I will risk being shunned by my family and friends, never have the opportunity to have a child with the person I love, and suffer prejudice for the rest of my life because I CHOOSE to be this way. I was not born this way, I think I might like all those things so I'm going to switch right now" Why don't you try to understand that just as you were born heterosexual, and have no sexual feelings for your own sex, so are homosexuals born with no sexual desire for the opposite sex. They did not choose that. God MADE them that way. You must have a problem with God if you hate gays because he created them. They did not choose to be gay, they ARE gay. Get it? On the other hand, you choose to be a bigot. See the difference?

There are plenty of people that choose homosexuality and bisexuality. Not all of them are proud of that choice though. Why is that?

First of all, we don't choose to be gay. Our only choice is whether to act on those feelings or to live a miserable life trying to ignore them.

Secondly, it's people like you with your closed-minded religious beliefs who make some people feel bad about themselves for being gay. You need to learn to love other people instead of promoting so much hatred.

*clapping and cheering* Bravo!!

Thanks. I used to think a little like Oscar, but I moved into a share house with 3 other people about 4 years ago. It wasn't until after I moved in that I found one of the guys was gay. I would have moved out if I had the money, but I stayed, and after a long time with me ignoring him and shunning him I actually started talking to him one day and realised that he could not be anything else. He was gay, and always was. I decided it was wrong for me to treat him badly because of how he was born. I sometimes still send him a joke via SMS and he'll return one. I never thought I would miss a gay guy!

I think we all grow up hearing bad things about gay people, so most people seem to harbor ill feelings about gays (or at least think they're weird) until they actually get to know a gay person. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a story similar to yours, and I know that knowing me has changed many people's minds about lesbians.

It's just so frustrating to me when someone uses the religious argument. Even if they believe it is sinful it seems to me that the right thing to do its to try to love and accept people the way they are. I get annoyed when religion makes people act in a hateful way, because it seems so incongruous. I think they're missing the point.

I am struggling with my religious beliefs at the moment. I think religion is very incongruous. They are told to love eveyone, yet they are told that certain behaviours are sinful, and given examples where people are destroyed because of who they are. I don't think the answers lie on Earth. We will have to wait until we face God and are able to find out what he really means.

I think the problem lies in the way the bible is interpreted and the fact that it is so outdated. But then, I don't believe there is one "correct" religion, and I don't think there are rules for how to communicate with God. Good luck in your search for answers. I hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as I have because I find it all so fascinating!

I lived in Germany for three years and got to know several Germans. None of them wished that Hitler had succeeded. (And I'm blond and blue-eyed, so I don't think they'd have felt bad about telling me if they had felt that way.)

Germans, when they see me, they all knows immideiatelly that I'm German, even though I have brown hair (now died) and brown eyes. Maybe it's because of my pale skin or the way I look at people?

I'd stop myself from going back in history...

well so much for compassion, I see...

there are too many to decide from

yahoo, suebee, kaleb and mandy!!!!

I wouldn't.

um, i'd smack the tool/scalpel out of the doctor's hand that removed my foreskin

I'd go back to New York City on that December night in 1980 and prevent John Lennon's assassination in front of the Dakota Apartments. My reason is because I believe he had more to do in his life, and because Sean deserved to have his father around to see him grow up. For that matter, John deserved to be around to see both of his sons as adults.

You spend a lot of time thinking about your penis, don't you?

I wouldn't. I might go back to observe, but I would change nothing...in fact, I wouldn't even go back to observe unless I was invisible, intangible and not able to affect anything.

I wouldn't.

Okay, let's suppose that I have to. Okay, I'd buy a winning lottery ticket on my 18th birthday. That might make things interesting.

I would change the fact that Adolf Hitler was released from jail early because he was considered a non-threat.

penis envy consumes about 93% of my daily thoughts...hehe

LOL

who is saying that this is a religious belief that I hold. That's a crock of crap. I hold this belief as a personal belief. I do have Bible to back it up, but even without the Bible, I would still stay strong to my belief.

But without the bible to back it up, why would you feel so strongly about it? Why not live and let live? Did you have a guy drop you for another guy in the past? I know a woman that happened to, and she hates gay people, too.

yes, I would feel just as strongly.
No, I haven't been dumped for another guy.

I'd like to go back and tell my dad I love him one more time before he died. Then again, he already knew it.

I would try to take Hitler out before his rise to power.

If I had that option, I would dedicate years, possibly a lifetime, of study to determine which event I should change. Can't take that lightly.

Most christains would would say "nothing, it is how God wanted it", or something to that effect. But if I did get the chance it would be by God's will, so I would want it to happen. And if so, leave it up to God to let it be whatever it is.

OK, now to answer the question the fun way. Hmmm, let's see...I would love to go back to the Garden of Eden and make sure Eve didn't eat the fruit, or even desire too, but it would not matter, for I myself would bring sin into their world, me being a sinner, and we would still all sin as of today. I'm really not sure, it would have to be all the way back before Lucifer performed his first sin and I would try my hardest to make sure he didn't sin, but I would still bring sin to them. If I left right away without sinning in the span I was there (which is next to impossible) then I would give it a shot(but like I said, that's practically impossible, and just the presence of a sin-filled spirit, even without performing sin, the sin would still be known). So I would do research and find this nation: the one that does not know God, but if they did today, it would have the biggest effect on the world, supporting God and christianity, that is. Heck, even one person would do.

This question is hard, for the personal desire to change an event to my liking is there, but I know that if I did, I would want to better the world. But no matter what, sin will still be here, for if it wasn't, it would be God's will. God is a strange but awesome guy. Praise God.

Hiroshima bombing. we did not need to show our strength as a nation, when we had our strenth as a union, with all our neiboring countries out there.

"it would be kinda cool" if Hitler's plan worked?!? Sweetheart if I were you I'd check up on my history and know what I was talking about before I actually said it. Whats wrong with you?

You wouldnt say that if you knew why Jesus was crucified. This is what we Christians base our faith upon.

Why in the world would you undo the Hiroshima bombing? Maybe the Pearl Harbor bombing, but Hiroshima??? You must not be an American.

Keep John Lennon from getting killed, stopping Wendy O Williams from commiting suicide, same for Kurt Cobain, fix Jim Croce's airplane before take-off, keeping Stevie Ray Vaughn off the helicopter (and put Bon Jovi ON that helicopter > ).

Oh, and I'd get Marvin Gaye OFF drugs, so he wouldn't beat on his dad who eventually shot him in self-defense, AND, stomach pump Hendrix and Joplin. Oooh, ooh, I'd also save John Denver.

I'm sure I wouldn't, if I believed that Jesus was the son of God and died to save people. Since I don't believe in God, and I think Christianity is just a sociological phenomenon, I wonder about these things. I think Jesus was just a guy, and I wonder what the world would be like if he had a different life, or at least a different death.

Wow that was a huge shock. I never knew you didnt believe in god. You do/did study the bible intesively right? Did you believe in god before your studies?

Nope, I've pretty much never believed in God. I tried for a while, but it didn't sit right. And yes, I study Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and ancient near eastern religion. I think one reason I'm so interested in the Bible is because I don't have any theological attachments. I didn't have any kind of religious upbringing, but many of my friends were brought up with a lot of it, so I was always intrigued. I find the whole phenomenon fascinating, and it amazes me that a random collection of stories like the Bible could have achieved the status and had the impact that it has.

That is so interesting. I don't believe in god and have no desire to read the bible much less study it. I think that makes you a very interesting person with an intriguing
personality

I'm high right now (just came from the school), so I don't really want to comment because I might right something really stupid (of course if I already do something like that).

"It's just so frustrating to me when someone uses the religious argument..."

I just wanted you to know that there are a lot of us who would probably come under your "religious argument" thoughts. But we are not all the same. As a Christian, my whole belief system is totally based on God's Word, as I have found it to be the Truth, and therefore my opinions on certain subjects will be from that Biblical (also known as religious - but I hate that word!) standpoint.
Can I just reassure you, however, that altho my opinions are based on Scriptural principles, I will not and cannot judge, for that would be hypocritical of me to do so.
I believe in loving people and caring for people, regardless of their belief systems. And it is the same with many Christians.
On behalf of those of us Christians who are reading this material, I apologise for the offense that Oscar seems to be bringing. Please don't think that all Christians think like her.
I think you are really lovely, along with mandy and ... I'm not gonna start to name people 'cos I'll leave some out!
Hope you are having an awesome day!

Thanks! You're a sweetie! I did already realize that there are a lot of Christians who are kind and loving people who do not judge others. Natsim is another I can think of here at SC who is quite religious but very open-minded and non-judgmental. There are probably others who haven't commented on the subject. You are truly good people! I hope I haven't said anything in the past to offend you. I fear that I may have gotten frustrated on more than one occasion when I felt I was under attack by others. I'm actually a very spiritual person, even though I'm not affiliated with any specific religion, and I want you to know that I have total respect for your beliefs.

Thank you for your kind words!

Why do you feel that you need to apologize for me? I don't hate anyone here. Hate is such a strong word that I don't use it except for in extreme cases where it is applicable. I speak the truth...I speak my mind. Last time I checked, I'm allowed to do that. I almost feel obligated. I believe the Bible tells us to "speak the truth in love..." I don't speak it hatefully and I believe that I am speaking it in love. You may or may not agree, but "judge not, that ye be not judged..."
Have you ever heard that Jesus is the "Rock of Offense?" You can't speak the truth without offending even just a few people.
I really don't feel as though I should have to justify myself or my actions to any of you people, but since SC is about opinions, this is mine. I should be free to voice those opinions, however controversial they may be, without you judging me or feeling as though you need to apologize for me.
You probably have your own feelings, beliefs, opinions, etc. that others may find offensive, yet for some reason you don't voice them. Perhaps you are a coward, I don't know. To each his own, but this is me...whether anyone likes it or not. I'm really not out here seeking anyone's approval.
Dang! I have a lot to say. Forgive me for carrying on such.

Assassinate Bill Clinton right before he was elected! And when i have gotten in BiG trouble with my parents'.

From what I got from her comment, I thought she was apologizing not for you, but for your use of Christianity to back up your opinion. Why does that make her a coward?

I wasn't saying that she was a coward for her apology but for her possibly holding back on her comments so as to not offend anyone.
She was apologizing for "the offense that Oscar seems to be bringing."
If I wanted to apologize for any "offense that I seem to be bringing", then I would apologize for it.

I would change the time when I was eleven that I wrote some really bad words and mean things in my diary about my family. Well, I don't know if I would change that, I would probably change getting caught.

You claim that you "speak the truth in love", but you do not come across as being at all loving. You offend people (at least, you have offended me more than once) yet you say you have no intention of apologizing. (I'm not looking for an apology, but responding to what you said above.) That does not sound at all loving. I'm sorry if you have a difficult life, but you don't have to be mean to people. Did you ever stop to think that your life might be more pleasant if you would treat others the way you wish to be treated?

Smurf is not a coward. She has talked about her beliefs openly. She just doesn't try to tell the rest of us that we are crap because we don't believe the same things.